Crazy future predictions

Polina becomes a "favorite lost daughter" of the Russians when she starts making a habit of interrupting future Russian podium sweeps by the Russian ladies.
So Youn PARK has a Joanie Rochette bronze medal winning performance in PyeongChang South Korea, 2018.
With no podium finishes next season Ashley joins the other vets from the last cycle and retires.
Gracie becomes the Kanako Murakami of American figure skating when Karen Chen finally becomes a senior.

Gracie becomes the Kanako Murakami of American figure skating when Karen Chen finally becomes a senior.

The other three are not THAT crazy, but this is at least not likely to happen, if not impossible: I would actually say that Gracie (more than Polina) is the one who could really have an impact on the "Russian Ladies domination": she's not the most consistent skater out there, yes, but she's improved greatly under Frank and I'm sure that after a full summer training with him she could easily and consistently challenge and beat any of the Russians (don't forget that at SC, where both she and Julia skated clean SP, she placed 1st in that segment), also considering that Adelina is not always exactly the "nerves-of-steel girl"

Yuna take rest for 2 full season then comeback for Pyeongchang, to prepare that she will show up at some competitiona such as B-level or Nationals then Worlds 2017, Korea totally go crazy over her again

In the US ladies: Polina eclipses Gracie over the next year or two and threatens to medal at worlds. Ashley will be in the US top 3, achieve some personal goal like a GPF or world medal, and retires after Boston '16. She'll get her return to the Olympics, as part of a television commentary crew. Mirai's comeback never really gets off the ground.
Other ladies: Anna P. will dominate the Russian Ladies next year, but I'll believe could see 4 different Russian national champs over the next quad. SoYoun Park continues to improve by leaps and bounds.
The Newly formed Russian dance pairs will really give us something to watch as they flip flop with each other in the results.
Hanyu continues to dominate the men.

-Mirai will find her mojo again and place top two at nationals (motivation from her devastating Olympic team cut)
-D/W take a year off but don't formally retire and shoot for 2018
-Machida overtakes Hanyu as Japanese #1
-Elena and Ruslan consistently beat both Ekaterina and Dmitri AND Victoria and Nikita
-Marissa OR Simon finds a new pairs partner and edges out Denney/Coughlin as second
-Zhang/Bartholomay take first at Nationals
-Shibs do two amazing programs and come much closer to Chock/Bates in terms of points
-Weaver/Poje peak, but don't medal higher than silver at anything but Canadian Nationals/Skate Canada
-Adelina goes to Worlds and medals top three
-Nathalie Pechalat takes over the French fed and kicks butt at it (can this please happen?)

In the US ladies: Polina eclipses Gracie over the next year or two and threatens to medal at worlds. Ashley will be in the US top 3, achieve some personal goal like a GPF or world medal, and retires after Boston '16. She'll get her return to the Olympics, as part of a television commentary crew. Mirai's comeback never really gets off the ground.
Other ladies: Anna P. will dominate the Russian Ladies next year, but I'll believe could see 4 different Russian national champs over the next quad. SoYoun Park continues to improve by leaps and bounds.
The Newly formed Russian dance pairs will really give us something to watch as they flip flop with each other in the results.
Hanyu continues to dominate the men.

Some are predictions, some are just things that will assume me greatly if they happen. Probably fairly easy to identify which is which.

- Yulia will conquer the puberty monster and emerge as the favourite for 2018, though she won't dominate all the time because of intense rivalry with the other Russians.
- Ashley will make it to 2018. In fact, there won't be a dominant US lady for the next quad--it'll just be a bunch of people trading spots.
- Hanyu will dominate for the next quad, but he will not win another Olympic gold. It'll instead go to a youngster like Han Yan, or someone who hasn't even emerged yet (Korean upstart?). This possibly creates a controversy.
- Plush and Dai will both make it to 2018 as bionic men. One of them will miraculously medal because the rest of the field falls over (again...)
- Artur Gachinski finally digs himself out of the ashes and steals Kovtun's spot as leading Russian man. However, neither of them will be a huge factor on the World or Olympic stage. Instead, Japanese men continue their domination.
- In the vein of Hanyu, V/T will continue their domination but they won't win Olympic gold again. Instead, it goes to... Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot, who will flounder in the wilderness for a few years but pick themselves up in time for the Olympics.
- Yuna is well and truly retired, but Mao will continue. She will medal in 2018 but not win.
- Patrick Chan will come out back, but I dunno if he'll make it all the way to the next Olympics. Motivation will be an issue.

Or, just for fun, alternative Patrick Chan prediction:
- Patrick Chan will switch countries because, along with the rest of the world, he finally realized that no Canadian man will ever win Olympic gold--silver's the ceiling. However, this backfires on him; instead of winning another silver a la Orser and Stojko, he ends up without a medal at the next Olympics.

I don't think Polina supplanting Gracie is a question of if, its a question of when. She's been ten times the competitor in her first three senior events, is more naturally musical and has an equal technical arsenal. She is my pick to win in 2015 although the judges will try to make it happen for Gracie. If they do, Polina will overtake her the following season.

In other crazy future predictions
-Hawayek and Baker quickly (next season) jump over the Shibs and become US dance #2. Chock and Bates medal at Boston Worlds.
-Coughlin retires. Shnapir teams up with Denney who moves to Boston and ends up significantly more successful than Marissa despite her being more talented than either of them. Alternatively, both Castelli and Shnapir's new partnerships don't get off the ground and they reteam after disappointment in Greensboro in a last ditch effort to make their hometown Worlds.
-KMT regrets walking away from a successful partnership for an off chance at 2022 when she doesn'y stand on a world podium the entire quad.
-Kayne and O'Shea establish themselves with a medal at Skate America while Scimeca and Knierim continue to mistakes never live up to their first season potential. However, Zhang and Bartholomay win the national title (their only one of the quad) in Greensboro when they're the only team to skate 2 clean programs. They retire prior to 2018. US pairs has much more depth than they did from 2008-2013 but no one team emerges as the clear #1 and the national title bounces three or four different ways on the road to Pyeongchang.
-Ashley makes good on her promise to at least try for 2018. She is better than expected in 2015, on the 2016 World team and at least in contention for the 2018 team. USFS ensures that Mirai will never be in contention for a World team by calling those underrotations with none of the mercy they show other but she gets in her own way as well with some subpar performances. Karen Chen fizzles out due to injury and is never a factor.
-Gracie will have moments of greatness but never mentally tough it out for a World title.
-Radionova will eclipse Lipnitskaia as the Russian it girl. Sotnikova will never actually return. Pogo will be a Butyrskaya who skates competitively for the next 15 years but is never the main star.
-Max Aaron retires after next season. So does Abbott after finishing fourth at Nationals and reminding us all 400 times in the media that he got the 3rd spot back.
-Savchenko and Massot fizzle out fast or never end up getting off the ground.
-Sui outgrows Han and they never become the champions we thought they'd be when they were juniors.
-Paul & Islam make a surprising surge in the dance rankings over the next 2 years, sailing past Paul and Piper.
-V/T win another world title or two but end up not making it to Pyeongchang due to injury and age.
-D/W come back at some point probably for Boston 2016. However, if they do not push for Pyeongchang, Weaver and Poje are the Olympic champions..

- Yulia will lose her jumps and even her spins as soon as she becomes a "woman" and not be as dominant in the quad as many expect her to be.
- Anna P. will not dominate but will still be the top lady among the Russians (and the world). Radionova will be a close 2nd (given she gets through puberty).
- Gracie Gold will become the new Ashley Wagner and always come in 4th-7th place and never medal at Worlds.
- Ashley Wagner will consistently finish 7th-10th.
- So Youn Park will place around 5th but at the 2017 Worlds, will place 4th. She will be the Silver Medalist in Pyeongchang (possibly even Gold) due to the Olympics being in Korea (C'mon, even Adelina placed 9th at the 2013 Worlds and won the Sochi Olympics. So Youn already placed 9th at 2014 Worlds and has more than enough time to improve much more. Her technique is also very secure). But there's a condition to this prediction: So Youn must be consistent and earn the judges' respect. If she pulls an Alissa Czisny, please cancel my prediction...
- Yuna is done for good (although if she does come back [1% chance IMO], she will be handed the Gold for a near clean performance), while Mao will continue but skip the GP season for some years. Mao will not medal in Pyeongchang (finish 4th-5th) due to the consistent, technically strong Russian ladies but will win 2017 Worlds and become a 4-time World Champ.
- Polina Edmunds will grow too much (will grow to over 170 cm, which is taller than Kostner), and struggle with her jumps. She and Julia will struggle with the body changes.
- Adelina Sotnikova will finish 6th at 2015 Worlds and retire. She will become an actress in Russia.

I have a feeling JuLip is going to grow up and out and become a STRONGER threat. You can usually tell which girls are going to have troubles with the puberty monster and I'm not getting that vibe from her. It was hard to say three years ago, but she's only gotten stronger with her growth. The only trouble I see in her jump arsenal with more growth is that scary 2axel. She's only getting that done because of her small frame. The rest I only see getting better.

Polina will surprise and win USN in 2015. She knows how to compete. Only problem is I think her limbs are way too long for her. She's a skater, not a ballerina, and while a body like hers is capable of exquisite lines, the time she'd have to put in to get those lines and limbs in place seems like an impossible task. I see her just continuing with superficial pretty pretty movements that mean nothing but get the job done so long as she lands her jumps.

Ashley will flop on the GP in the fall and retire before Nationals so as to avoid another disaster like this year.